"During the 1950s and 1960s Umm Kulthum expanded her role in
Egyptian public life. She granted more interviews during which she
spoke about her life, repeatedly identifying herself as a villager, a
fallahah or peasant, who shared a cultural background and
essential values with the majority of the Egyptian populace. Her
interviews were full of stories of her family, her neighbors, and the
familial qualities of village life.

She cultivated the position of spokeswoman for various causes.
She advocated governmental support of Arabic music and musicians, she
endowed a charitable foundation and, most importantly, after the
Egyptian defeat in the 1967 war, she began a series of domestic and
international concerts for Egypt. She travelled throughout Egypt and
the Arab world, collecting contributions and donating the proceeds of
her performances to the government of Egypt. These concerts were much
publicized and took on the character of state visits. Umm Kulthum was
entertained by heads of state, she toured cultural monuments, and, in
interviews, repeated her views concerning the importance of support
for indigenous Arab culture. More than a musician, she became 'the
voice and face of Egypt'."